( there weren't many outsiders conscripted into LILITH's ranks that spoke like that to izou, besides— )
Sounds like another Outsider who's been badgerin' me lately. You two would get along.
( as if two completely different women couldn't feel confident in themselves???
the "you and i aren't that different", though... something uncomfortable scrapes under his skin, as if someone who just met him knew a damn thing. for a moment he regards malkuth with a sour expression, nudging at the remains of a steamed clam with his chopsticks. )
Just best friends. I mean, I could see why anyone would have a thing for her -- she's gorgeous and strong, always looking out for others and bringing them up, she's kind for kindness's sake... and when she feels something's off, she always calls it out. I really admire how confident she is, too, and how soft her skin is.
( there's a softness in malkuth's expression as she renders an overwhelming sweet telling of their connection and what march means to her, but izou is quick to become distracted by the very last thing she says.
yeeeah, he's just gonna take a long sip of that beer as he recalls how it felt to entwine his fingers with hers, to feel the murmur of her fingertips during that particularly stressful mission earlier this month. it was all for the purpose of infiltration, but a touch-starved idiot like himself won't be forgetting it anytime soon.
his gaze flits away and back. )
T-That so. ... You got some pretty intense feelings. But that's... ( good, because march ought to have someone she can open up to... someone she won't regret being around eventually, ) ... nevermind. Guess I just don't get it, what with how it hasn't been all that long. Women work fast.
... are so interesting. is he uncomfortable? nervous? was it something she said, or the intensity of her best friend feelings? she eyes him before hailing down a beer for herself. malkuth cannot drink too much. she learned what happens when she does (she falls asleep). but one or three won't hurt... ♪ ]
I guess so. March and I are birds of a feather, so we get along. It's pretty easy to be her friend as long as you're open to it.
Which, [ and she points a shrimp in his direction, ] you definitely aren't, but it's not gonna kill you to garner some friendliness with others. Even if we're all on different teams, we're still working together. Cohesion is a must.
[ spoken like someone who's been in a managerial position. the shrimp tucks into her mouth and she looks thoughtfully at him after a moment. ]
I don't think March is as old as I am, if that makes you more comfortable with letting her badger you. You didn't seem like you had a great reaction to my self-estimation.
( what the hell? now their little get-together feels like a lecture... )
Tch. I'm taking this shit seriously, so it's not like I'm opposed to team-work. It's just, some folks aren't so used to others being... fascinated in 'em outside of work. Or in people clamberin' around them in general.
( time to get defensive. )
Everyone's got their circumstances. There's no way you haven't had a bad experience, persistence be damned.
that gives her pause, chopsticks stopped in the middle of grabbing another shrimp to dip, and her smile dims a little. ]
... Well, you can't force people to change their feelings about you, that's for sure. You can open all the doors in the world, give them every chance to take even a peek in, and they can still choose to walk on by without seeing you at all.
[ she thinks of a floor streaked with (her) blood and a desperate plea, the turn of a head and footsteps echoing away,
and doesn't feel so hungry anymore. she eats the shrimp anyway and it feels hard to swallow. ]
( and that's the crux of an issue unbeknownst to them, isn't it?
that one is trying to look forward, while the other is always looking behind.
malkuth hits a sore spot, a wound that never seems to heal what with the pain being engraved on his bones, his spirit, and izou immediately tenses. )
I know that better than anyone.
( —that people will leave no matter how close they seem, that most had grander things to attend to than a man who couldn't do right by anyone in the end, and a chopstick stabs into the veggie she so unceremoniously returned to him. )
And no. It ain't. Just focus on finishin' your plate.
maybe he's one of the people who she can't change the feelings of. well, it's fine if they're nothing more than people who can work together -- or maybe the fight will help them both, though she wonders what page she'll have to use against someone like him. at the very least it sounds like they've had the same turn in their pasts, but that isn't dinner conversation -- it's hardly daily life conversation either, and it's still a bit of a sore spot on her end anyways.
as much as she tries to not let it be, it's always in the back of her mind as she nibbles at the last of the vegetables. ]
I'll stop trying to befriend you.
[ just so he knows, she's got the message. malkuth hates giving up, but there's a fine line between stubbornness and hardheadedness. ]
( izou grits his teeth at the remark, and perhaps this is where most would apologize.
instead, he opts to turn the phrase over and over in his head in a moment of silence, plopping bits and pieces of his meal into his mouth to methodically chew, all sorts of justifications for his behavior dancing on the brain. her approach might've been sincere, but he almost perceived it as condescending in a way. )
You'd be better off for it.
( a woman like her, so bent on achieving warmth with her new-found comrades... she didn't need to waste time doting on him any.
this is how it ought to be, or so he thinks, retreating into the safety of his anger. gradually, izou wears down, and what comes out next is more of a grumble than anything: )
... Don't mean I'll turn down that challenge, though. I'll be there.
I was hoping you wouldn't back out. I'd like to know who you are, after all. I mean it.
[ even if, or especially if, it's through combat. her beer sits barely touched and she can't even think to eat another bite, so she waves down for her split of the bill and scans her wrist over the offered device as she stands, resting her other hand on the table. ]
Thank you for coming out with me. I really like how this place looks, and the food's really delicious, so maybe you'll see me in here again sometime. [ alone or with someone else. ] Don't be a stranger. I'll split the bill with you anytime.
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no subject
( there weren't many outsiders conscripted into LILITH's ranks that spoke like that to izou, besides— )
Sounds like another Outsider who's been badgerin' me lately. You two would get along.
( as if two completely different women couldn't feel confident in themselves???
the "you and i aren't that different", though... something uncomfortable scrapes under his skin, as if someone who just met him knew a damn thing. for a moment he regards malkuth with a sour expression, nudging at the remains of a steamed clam with his chopsticks. )
no subject
[ like she doesn't even need to guess. no cheeky "right?" about it she's been called peas in a pod with her. ]
She's my best friend here. I'm trying to improve my confidence since she thinks I'm cute, and I want to be cute for her too.
[ that's her bestie... she's ignoring his sour look though it's clearly just because of her friendliess and nothing else. ]
no subject
... actually— )
Just best friends? Typically when you wanna be cute for someone, it means you've got a thing for 'em.
( or at least, to izou. chopsticks pointed straight at malkuth. )
no subject
[ but they are just best friends. ]
no subject
yeeeah, he's just gonna take a long sip of that beer as he recalls how it felt to entwine his fingers with hers, to feel the murmur of her fingertips during that particularly stressful mission earlier this month. it was all for the purpose of infiltration, but a touch-starved idiot like himself won't be forgetting it anytime soon.
his gaze flits away and back. )
T-That so. ... You got some pretty intense feelings. But that's... ( good, because march ought to have someone she can open up to... someone she won't regret being around eventually, ) ... nevermind. Guess I just don't get it, what with how it hasn't been all that long. Women work fast.
no subject
... are so interesting. is he uncomfortable? nervous? was it something she said, or the intensity of her best friend feelings? she eyes him before hailing down a beer for herself. malkuth cannot drink too much. she learned what happens when she does (she falls asleep). but one or three won't hurt... ♪ ]
I guess so. March and I are birds of a feather, so we get along. It's pretty easy to be her friend as long as you're open to it.
Which, [ and she points a shrimp in his direction, ] you definitely aren't, but it's not gonna kill you to garner some friendliness with others. Even if we're all on different teams, we're still working together. Cohesion is a must.
[ spoken like someone who's been in a managerial position. the shrimp tucks into her mouth and she looks thoughtfully at him after a moment. ]
I don't think March is as old as I am, if that makes you more comfortable with letting her badger you. You didn't seem like you had a great reaction to my self-estimation.
no subject
Tch. I'm taking this shit seriously, so it's not like I'm opposed to team-work. It's just, some folks aren't so used to others being... fascinated in 'em outside of work. Or in people clamberin' around them in general.
( time to get defensive. )
Everyone's got their circumstances. There's no way you haven't had a bad experience, persistence be damned.
no subject
that gives her pause, chopsticks stopped in the middle of grabbing another shrimp to dip, and her smile dims a little. ]
... Well, you can't force people to change their feelings about you, that's for sure. You can open all the doors in the world, give them every chance to take even a peek in, and they can still choose to walk on by without seeing you at all.
[ she thinks of a floor streaked with (her) blood and a desperate plea, the turn of a head and footsteps echoing away,
and doesn't feel so hungry anymore. she eats the shrimp anyway and it feels hard to swallow. ]
I know that. But this is different, isn't it?
[ ...
isn't it? ]
no subject
that one is trying to look forward, while the other is always looking behind.
malkuth hits a sore spot, a wound that never seems to heal what with the pain being engraved on his bones, his spirit, and izou immediately tenses. )
I know that better than anyone.
( —that people will leave no matter how close they seem, that most had grander things to attend to than a man who couldn't do right by anyone in the end, and a chopstick stabs into the veggie she so unceremoniously returned to him. )
And no. It ain't. Just focus on finishin' your plate.
no subject
maybe he's one of the people who she can't change the feelings of. well, it's fine if they're nothing more than people who can work together -- or maybe the fight will help them both, though she wonders what page she'll have to use against someone like him. at the very least it sounds like they've had the same turn in their pasts, but that isn't dinner conversation -- it's hardly daily life conversation either, and it's still a bit of a sore spot on her end anyways.
as much as she tries to not let it be, it's always in the back of her mind as she nibbles at the last of the vegetables. ]
I'll stop trying to befriend you.
[ just so he knows, she's got the message. malkuth hates giving up, but there's a fine line between stubbornness and hardheadedness. ]
no subject
instead, he opts to turn the phrase over and over in his head in a moment of silence, plopping bits and pieces of his meal into his mouth to methodically chew, all sorts of justifications for his behavior dancing on the brain. her approach might've been sincere, but he almost perceived it as condescending in a way. )
You'd be better off for it.
( a woman like her, so bent on achieving warmth with her new-found comrades... she didn't need to waste time doting on him any.
this is how it ought to be, or so he thinks, retreating into the safety of his anger. gradually, izou wears down, and what comes out next is more of a grumble than anything: )
... Don't mean I'll turn down that challenge, though. I'll be there.
no subject
[ even if, or especially if, it's through combat. her beer sits barely touched and she can't even think to eat another bite, so she waves down for her split of the bill and scans her wrist over the offered device as she stands, resting her other hand on the table. ]
Thank you for coming out with me. I really like how this place looks, and the food's really delicious, so maybe you'll see me in here again sometime. [ alone or with someone else. ] Don't be a stranger. I'll split the bill with you anytime.